Betting public cashes in on Packers

As it turned out, the right team was favored in the Super Bowl. Aaron Rodgers led the Green Bay Packers to victory Sunday, and following the Packers paid off for a majority of the betting public.

Long lines snaked through casinos, lending a Disneyland look to Las Vegas sports books, and the close, high-scoring game proved deserving of the hype.

Rodgers passed for three touchdowns as the Packers, 2½-point favorites, held on to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 in Super Bowl XLV at Arlington, Texas.

The buildup to the biggest betting day of the year resulted in a letdown only for some sports book directors who reported a loss on the game.

"Everything went pretty well. The people seemed to have a good time, and they got us for a little," said Jimmy Vaccaro, director of operations for Lucky's sports books.

"It was a loser. It wasn't really bad. It was a modest loss."

The scenes were similar at spots all around the city as parking spots were hard to find and waiting times at the wagering windows were lengthy for most of the day.

Inside the Las Vegas Hilton, more than 200 people were lined up to place bets at 2 p.m. When the coin toss turned up heads -- one of hundreds of proposition wagers available -- a roar was heard from about half the crowd in the Red Rock Resort sports book.

Rodgers helped Green Bay get out to a 21-3 lead, and Pittsburgh closed the gap to 21-10 at halftime.

A touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger, followed by a 2-point conversion, pulled the Steelers within 28-25 with 7:34 remaining. The Packers added a short field with 2:07 to go and made a last-minute defensive stand to seal the outcome.

"It started off slow, and it was not that exciting of a game," M Resort sports book director Mike Colbert said. "But it did pick up. It was nerve-racking at the end."

Sports book directors reported mixed results, with one saying most books were a "real small loser to a significant seven-figure loser."

The books were seeing heavy money on Green Bay and over the total of 45.

"It was a worst-case scenario for us with the Packers and over," Hilton sports book director Jay Kornegay said. "Going into the game, we knew exactly what we didn't need, and unfortunately that scenario came true.

"It's not that bad. We lost a little bit. Considering most of the props were going over and there was all that scoring, I'm pretty happy with the number we ended up with, even though it was a red number."

MGM Resorts sports book director Jay Rood said public parlays linking Green Bay and over the total did the most damage.

"The combination of that two-team parlay was brutally rough," Rood said. "It was the worst Super Bowl that I've been a part of. That's an accurate statement."

But Colbert, who runs four books for Cantor Gaming, including the Cosmopolitan, Hard Rock and Tropicana, said late action on the underdog contributed to a positive bottom line.

"All the big bets were on Pittsburgh today," Colbert said. "I expected a lot of Steelers money, but not as much as what we got. It was a good result."

While public opinion sided with the Packers and a higher-scoring game than anticipated, several so-called wiseguys were on the wrong side.

"All the sharp guys lost," Kornegay said, "because they were taking the under and the Steelers."

Rodgers, named Most Valuable Player, hit a winning parlay of his own by escaping Brett Favre's shadow and denying Pittsburgh its third title in six years.

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907.